Screen mounting



June 9, 1959 H. M. LOCKHART 2,889,376

SCREEN MOUNTING Filed March 15, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. HUGHBERTM. LOCKHART June 9, 1959 H. M. LOCKHART 2,839,876

SCREEN MOUNTING Filed March 15, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet z INVENTOR.

HUGHBER T M. LOCKHART SCREEN MOUNTING Hughbert M. Lockhart, SouthfieldTownship, Wayne County, Mich.

Application March 15, 1956, Serial No. 571,750

2 Claims. (Cl. 160328) My invention relates to a new and usefulimprovement in a screen mounting for mounting window screens in positionover a window opening. The invention relates to that type of windowscreen in which no screen frame is used but in which the screen elementitself is secured over the window opening with the edges of the screenelement loose and free. In this type of screen structure, the screenelement at opposite edges is provided with a rigid rail or bar. One ofthese rails or bars is secured to the upper side of the window openingand the other rail or bar is secured to the lower side of the windowopening. Construction is such that the screen is held taut between thesetwo bars so that the face of the screen, at the side edges, is held inengagement with the face of the window frame. Experience has shown thatin this type of construction, the screen element frequently becomesbulged so that the side edges thereof do not lie snug against the facesof the sides of the window frame. The result is that the screen is notinsect tight and its functioning is considerably impaired.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a mounting of such ascreen element so constructed that the unreinforced edges of the screenwill always bear against the face of the window frame snugly throughoutthe length of the edges of the screen element.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a mounting of ascreen element so constructed and arranged that an outward thrustdelivered to the screen element will be compensated for by a yielding ofthe mounting of one of the bars on the window frame.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a screen mounting ofthis type which may be easily and quickly installed without requiringthe use of templates or other measuring instruments.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a reinforcing bar inwhich the upper edge of the screen may be easily and quickly fastened inposition and in which the attaching members which serve to attach thebar to the window frame may be easily and quickly installed and moved tovarious positions lengthwise of the attaching bar.

Another object of the invention is the provision in a screen mounting ofthis type whereby the mounting of the screen automatically adjusts thescreen to window openings which are out-of-square.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

It is recognized that various modifications and changes may be made inthe detail of the structure illustrated without departing from theinvention and it is intended that the present disclosure shall beconsidered to be but the preferred embodiment.

Forming a part of this application are drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of the screen from the inside.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, with the cam locks in releasingposition.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the screen element.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the screen element atthe upper end thereof.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of an attaching clip.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the screen element atthe lower end thereof.

Fig. 8 is an elevational view of a clip used in the invention.

Fig. 9 is an elevational view of a cam used in the invention.

Fig. 10 is an elevational view such as shown in Fig. 9 taken at rightangles to Fig. 9.

An attaching bar 7 has a doubled over lower edge 8 to provide a channelin which the upper edge 9 of the screen element 10 engages, thisparticular edge being doubled over to lie in the channel 8. A lowerattaching member 11 is doubled over at its upper edge to provide achannel 12 in which the doubled over lower edge 13 of the screenengages. The lower edge of the attaching bar 11 is doubled over toprovide a U-shaped structure having one of the sides 14 thereof extendedupwardly. Mounted on each of the side rails 15 and 16 of the windowframe is a rockable cam 17 having a nose 18.

Slideable on the upper edge of the wall 14 is an engagement plate 19having the upwardly directed tongue 29 connected by the curvilinearportion 21 to a channel or groove 22. An engagement plate is doubledover at one edge to provide a U-shaped structure 23 which embraces thewall 14. These engagement plates may be slid longitudinally of the lowerbar 11. The bar 7 is doubled over at its upper edge to provide a Ushapedstructure, one of the walls23 of which faces downwardly. An attachmentclip is provided which is formed from a resilient metal and preferably awire. It is formed U- shaped in structure with the oppositely disposedlegs 24 and 25 and the bight 26. This bight is at its center providedwith the inwardly bent U-shaped structure 27 to provide a channel 28bending outwardly from the bight. The legs 24 and 25 are provided withthe angularly turned upwardly extending portions 29. These angularlyextending portions 29 may be termed attaching legs, and they engage inthe channel 30 formed in the upper bar 7. As shown in Fig. 4 theopposite ends of the bight are inclined downwardly toward each other andterminate in the U-shaped structure 27 so that this U-shaped structure27 lies below the plane in which the legs 24- and 25 lie as clearlyshown in Fig. 5.

After the cam members have been mounted on the window frame in themanner indicated, the lower edge of the screen is secured to the bar 11as previously de scribed, and the upper edge of the screen is secured tothe bar 7 as previously described. The operator installing the mechanismthen secures to the upper rail 31 of the window opening an attachingscrew 32, leaving the head thereof spaced away from the face of thewindow frame rail 31. It is customary to provide on a screen a pluralityof these attaching clips. The operator then inserts into the channel 30the legs 29 of the attaching clip with the bight portions 26 inclineddownwardly and converging toward the center. These clips may be movedlongitudinally of the bar 7 so that it is not necessary to locate thescrews at any definite position on the rail of the window frame. Theattaching clip is then brought into position in which the U-shapedportion 27 embraces the screw, whereupon the screw may be threaded intightly so that the head thereof engages the portion 27. The lower endof the screen is then set into position so that the cams when moved tooperative position as shown in Fig. 1 will press against the presser orengagement plate 19, which will exert a downward pull on the bar 11 towhich the lower edge of the screen element is attached. This will effecta stretching of the screen into taut condition. This screen elementoverlies at its side edges the side rails 33 of the window frame so thatthe face of the screen element thus bears against the outer face of thewindow frame rails. Due to the drawing of the screen element taut bymeans of the cam elements, this engagement is a firm engagement andsufficient to prevent insects from entering between the side edges ofthe screen and the face of the window frame rail. As the cam members aremoved into operative position, there is a flexing of the attaching clipbight 26, this flexing tending to bend the portions of the bight onopposite sides of the screw downwardly. Should an outward thrust bedelivered to the screen element and should the screen element not bepermitted to adjust itself in response to the thrust, a bulge will takeplace in this screen element with the result that the frameless edgesthereof will not lie flat against the side rails of the window frame.With the present invention, a bulging of the screen cannot be effected.This is due to the fact that when an outward thrust is delivered to thescreen the clips, which are held in position by the screws, will yieldor spring. Consequently, there is an automatic adjustment to thisoutward thrust and no bulge will be formed in the screen. When theoutward thrust is relieved these attaching clips, in response to theirinherent resiliency, will spring back to normal position and thus retainthe screen in the position in which it was installed with the framelessedges lying in snug engagement with the face of the rails of the windowframe.

As the cams are moved downwardly, they will engage the portion 21 and asthe movement is completed, the cam elements will be engaged in thegroove 22 holding the lower edge of the screen in proper position.

What I claim is:

1. A screen mounting for mounting a frameless screen over a windowopening formed in a window frame, comprising: a flexible framelessscreen member; a rigid reinforcing bar mounted on one end of said screenmember and having a channel formed therein; a plurality of attachmentclips slidably mounted in said channel and each comprising a pair oflegs engaging in said channel; a U-shaped member projecting outwardlyfrom one end of said legs and having an inwardly extending loop on oneside and pressed inwardly from the bight of said U-shaped member; screwsmounted in the upper side of said window frame and depending therefromfor reception of said loop for securing said attachment clip to saidframe, said attachment clip being resilient; a rigid reinforcing barmounted on the opposite end of said screen member and having a channel;a plurality of clips slidably mounted in said last named channel; atongue projecting outwardly from each of said last named clips; and acam member mounted on said frame and rockable for engaging said tongueand pressing the same in one direction for stretching said screen memberinto taut condition.

2. A screen mounting for mounting a frameless screen over a windowopening formed in a window frame, comprising: a flexible framelessscreen member; a rigid reinforcing bar mounted on one end of said screenmember and having a channel formed therein; a plurality of attachmentclips slidably mounted in said channel and each comprising a pair oflegs engaging in said channel, and a U-shaped member projectingoutwardly from said legs and having an inwardly extending loop in thebight thereof and pressed inwardly from the bight; screws mounted in oneside of said window frame and projecting outwardly therefrom forreception of said loop for securing said attachment member to saidframe, said attachment member being resilient, the opposite ends of thebight of said attachment member at the opposite sides of said loop beinginclined inwardly toward each other so that said bight lies in a planenon-perpendicular to the plane of said legs; a rigid reinforcing barmounted on the opposite end of said screen member; and a cam membermounted on said frame and lockable for directing the thrust against saidsecond named reinforcing bar for pressing the same in one direction forstretching said screen into taut condition and flexing said attachmentclips and placing the same under tension.

References (Iited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,120,333 Pinkham Dec. 8, 1914 2,519,998 Burns Aug. 22, 1950 2,583,627Burns Jan. 29, 1952 2,759,536 Jensen Aug. 21, 1956

